In reading this encyclical by Pope Francis released in May 2015, I am struck by the tenderness and gentle exhortation yet with an urgency that demands from humanity to act and not to be complacent bystanders with regard to the state of our planet earth.
Naming pollution, agricultural monocultures, destructive fishing, industrial waste, the loss of our virgin forests, the disappearance of ecosystems and overconsumption as just a few of the many reasons why our home planet is in the state it is in, Pope Francis exhorts the global community to rethink economics so that the plight of the poor is taken into great consideration.
Caring for ecosystems demands far-sightedness, since no one looking for quick and easy profit is truly interested in their preservation. The cost of the damage caused by such selfish lack of concern is much greater than the economic benefits to be obtained, he writes. Human beings too are creatures of this world, enjoying a right to life and happiness, and endowed with unique dignity. So we cannot fail to consider the effects on people’s lives of environmental deterioration…He exhorts us to the beauty that is inherent in nature.
Pope Francis speaks of the unruly growth of cities which have become unhealthy to live in not only because of toxic emissions but the result of urban chaos, poor transportation, visual pollution and noise. We were not meant to be inundated by cement, asphalt, glass and metal, and deprived of physical contact with nature.
If we are capable of the worst, we are also capable of rising above ourselves choosing again what is good and making a new start.
Pope Francis refers to his namesake, Saint Francis of Assisi, who invites us to see nature as a magnificent book in which God speaks to us and grants us a glimpse of his infinite beauty and goodness.
He ends his encyclical on the Care For Our Common Home with two prayers, one of which I include here.
All-powerful God, You are present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures. You embrace with your tenderness all that exists, Pour out upon us the power of your love, that we may protect life and beauty. Fill us with peace, that we may live as brothers and sisters, harming no one. Oh God of the poor ,help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth, so precious in your eyes. Bring healing t our lives, that we may protect the world and not prey on it, that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction. Touch the hearts of those who look only for gain at the expense of the poor and the earth. Teach us to discover the worth of each thing, to be filled with awe and contemplation, to recognize that we are profoundly united with every creature as we journey towards your infinite light. We thank you each day. Encourage us we pray, in our struggle For justice, love and peace.
This column can never reflect the whole content of this encyclical. Hoping that this encyclical be read and imprinted in our heads and hearts because there is so much in the area of pollution control that need addressing to. The Philippines is the third largest polluter of the oceans.
Laudato Si’ may be downloaded at www.https://laudatosi.com/
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